Briar Rose
by: Jane Yolen Briar Rose: Sleeping Beauty
Review: I would give this book (3 stars out of 4). The storyline was very intriguing. I always wanted to keep going to find out what Becca would do next. The reason I didnt give it 4 stars was because some of the things about the extermination camp were really sad. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to see another side of WWII. This story is a twist on a modern fairy tale, and is informational for those who want to learn more about the extermination, concentration, and refugee camps.
Important Characters: Becca- Becca is the main character in this book. She is the one who uncovers the past that her grandmother(Gemma) has had while living in the Holocaust. Gemma- Gemma is Becca's grandmother that has just past. She is the one with the mysterious past that they are trying to uncover. Stan- Stan is Becca's co-worker. He is helping her in the begining of her journey. Magda- Magda is a women who lives in Poland. She meets Becca through a Polish & Jewish program. Becca then goes to Poland and stays with Magda when she tries to uncover her grandmothers past. Samantha & Linn- They live in Oswego whichh is around New York. Becca and Stan stay with then when they are going to learn about the Refugee camp; Fort Oswego; that Gemma had stayed at during the war. Harvey- Harvey was a refugee at Fort Oswego with Gemma. He knew Gemma when she was there. Josef Potoki- Was in Poland near the Extermination camp in Chelmno where Gemma was. He was good friends with Gemma.
Summary :
After the loss of her grandmother Becca Berlin is curious to know about her grandmothers life. She is very curious about this because when she was visiting her grandmother when she was very sick, her grandmother said to her "I am Briar Rose", so now Becca is wanting to figure out if her grandmother is really Briar Rose. No one in her family knows anything about her grandmothers past. Not even her mother. So Becca decides that she wants to learn more about her grandmothers past. The first thing that helps her journey is an old wooden box of her grandmothers. This box has carved roses on it, and says BRIAR on the top of it. All of Gemma's past secrets start to unfold right as they open that box.
This is a clip form the disney movie Sleeping Beauty. I chose this video because Briar Rose means Sleeping Beauty.
Gemma's Version of Sleeping Beauty: The fairies sprinkle the kingdom making all the people fall asleep. Then the prince comes and saves only Briar Rose(Gemma) and then everyone else is left sleeping. No one else wakes up. Some people in the book thought that this was a metaphor for Gemma's life in the Holocaust, because at the extermination camp that she was at was said to have been the worst one of all. Apparently no one could get away from it. But Gemma did. So she was the princess that was awaken by the prince and lived happily ever after.
This is a map of the are of Poland and surrounding countries during WWII.
You can see the Chelmno extermination camp that one of the characters
had been to.
Briar Rose
by: Jane Yolen
Briar Rose: Sleeping Beauty
Review: I would give this book
Important Characters:
Becca- Becca is the main character in this book. She is the one who uncovers the past that her grandmother(Gemma) has had while living in the Holocaust.
Gemma- Gemma is Becca's grandmother that has just past. She is the one with the mysterious past that they are trying to uncover.
Stan- Stan is Becca's co-worker. He is helping her in the begining of her journey.
Magda- Magda is a women who lives in Poland. She meets Becca through a Polish & Jewish program. Becca then goes to Poland and stays with Magda when she tries to uncover her grandmothers past.
Samantha & Linn- They live in Oswego whichh is around New York. Becca and Stan stay with then when they are going to learn about the Refugee camp; Fort Oswego; that Gemma had stayed at during the war.
Harvey- Harvey was a refugee at Fort Oswego with Gemma. He knew Gemma when she was there.
Josef Potoki- Was in Poland near the Extermination camp in Chelmno where Gemma was. He was good friends with Gemma.
Summary :
After the loss of her grandmother Becca Berlin is curious to know about her grandmothers life. She is very curious about this because when she was visiting her grandmother when she was very sick, her grandmother said to her "I am Briar Rose", so now Becca is wanting to figure out if her grandmother is really Briar Rose. No one in her family knows anything about her grandmothers past. Not even her mother. So Becca decides that she wants to learn more about her grandmothers past. The first thing that helps her journey is an old wooden box of her grandmothers. This box has carved roses on it, and says BRIAR on the top of it. All of Gemma's past secrets start to unfold right as they open that box.
This is a clip form the disney movie Sleeping Beauty. I chose this video because Briar Rose means Sleeping Beauty.
Gemma's Version of Sleeping Beauty: The fairies sprinkle the kingdom making all the people fall asleep. Then the prince comes and saves only Briar Rose(Gemma) and then everyone else is left sleeping. No one else wakes up. Some people in the book thought that this was a metaphor for Gemma's life in the Holocaust, because at the extermination camp that she was at was said to have been the worst one of all. Apparently no one could get away from it. But Gemma did. So she was the princess that was awaken by the prince and lived happily ever after.
This is a map of the are of Poland and surrounding countries during WWII.
You can see the Chelmno extermination camp that one of the characters
had been to.
Work Cited:
- Briar Rose. 11 Nov. 2007 <http://www.janeyolen.com/blurbs/briarr2.html>
- "Sleeping Beauty- Once Upon A Dream(video)" YouTube.com 11 Nov. 2007 <http://youtube.com/watch?v=wcKRgY4-uJU>
- The Library of Congress National Book Festival. 11 Nov. 2007 <http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http:www.loc.gov/bookfest/2003/bioimages/yolen.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.loc.gov/bookfest/2003/yolen.html&h=267&w=208&sz=15&hl=en&start=3&tbnid=VscFrV1F7ovhpM:&tbnh=113&tbnw=88&prev=/images%3Fq%3DJane%2BYolen%26gbv%3D2%26svnum%3D10%26hl%3Den>
- Topic 6: Killing Center Operation. 11 Nov. 2007 <http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http:www2.dsu.nodak.edu/users/dmeier/Holocaust/auc42030.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www2.dsu.nodak.edu/users/dmeier/Holocaust/killing.html&h=420&w=640&sz=58&hl=en&start=36&tbnid=LNynvFFXn2JEVM:&tbnh=90&tbnw=137&prev=/images%3Fq%3DChelmno%2Bdeath%2Bcamp%26start%3D20%26gbv%3D2%26ndsp%3D20%26svnum%3D10%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN>
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